4 local teens accused of hate crime in Wisconsin

Four suburban teenagers have been charged with felony hate crimes, accused of shouting slurs at a gay University of Wisconsin-Madison student and vandalizing his property, authorities said Monday.

No one was injured in the early morning altercation in Ogg Residence Hall on Dec. 21, and property damage was limited to torn photographs and posters promoting a campus center for lesbians, gays and others.

But the nature of the attack and the fact that it was directed at a student based on his sexual orientation prompted Dane County, Wis., prosecutors to elevate misdemeanor disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property charges to felony hate crimes.

"The fact that they went back to the room three times [that night], that says a lot," said UW-Madison Police Detective Carol Ann Glassmaker. "They were truly victimizing this person."

Caleb M. Moore, 18, Michael D. Riha, 19, and Kevin R. Sochacki , 18--all from the Naperville area and graduates of Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora--and Benjamin T. Chamberlain, 19, of Crystal Lake are charged with disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property, as well as hate crimes. Riha also is charged with obstructing an officer.

All four are free on bail and are scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13.

Chamberlain and Riha are UW students, Sochacki is a freshman at Purdue University and Moore attends Auburn University, but came to Madison to visit Riha, police said.

The incident has been covered by campus media.

Attorneys for the men said none are anti-gay or bigots. The lawyers said the case has been inflated and that the charges against the men should never have escalated to felonies.

"This is a blatant case of hitting a mosquito with a concrete brick. This is as over-charged a case as I've ever seen," said Stephen Meyer, who represents Moore.

Police said the incident occurred after a night of drinking.

The men are accused of gathering outside the dorm room of a male student who is one of two gay and lesbian liaisons for the university's housing system and shouting anti-gay slurs and expletives.

Someone also tore down photographs of homosexual couples and posters promoting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Campus Center that were outside the room. Someone also spat on his door and wrote an anti-gay statement in marker on a bulletin board outside the room.

The student chased three men to another floor of the dorm, but they refused to give him their names, police said. He called police about 10 hours after the incident, police said.

Glassmaker said the student was traumatized by the attack.

"He was very nervous and very scared," she said.

In response to the alleged crime, the LGBT campus center intends to show a documentary called "License to Kill," a collection of interviews with men who are in prison for murdering homosexuals.

University administration released a statement condemning the incident, and the student housing department has scheduled a series of talks, said housing director Paul Evans.